Posted by BJThis story was sent to us by our fellow APMP Fellow and good friend Jay H.

An experienced Capture/Proposal leader received a mail from his daughter requesting his assistance with her application for President of the Student Activities Board.

In her mail she says, “I have been working hard as a member of this board for 3-years, they all know me, and I’m going to either get the position or not. I doubt my application is what is going to make or break it. Regardless, I have to send in an application. I was hoping you could do me a favor and give this a quick read for any major problems.”

The father replied, “You have done a very good job of “positioning to win”. I would add a few specific stories of your results that have been achieved due to your efforts as a member of the board. Other than that, this hits the mark. With politics you never know how it will turn out but, I’d vote for you hands down.”

As Jay stated in his mail to me, “The moral is true. Knowing the customer and evaluators is the key to success. The proposal can be likened to a final exam. You need to do your homework before the RFP and don’t count on just the proposal (or application) to win.”​

Competitive differentiation counts, too. I remember running a campaign for a friend years ago, when she was standing for election to be Deputy President heading the welfare department of our student union.

She was an ideal candidate for the post; her opponent was a real political hack. We waited to see his leaflets appear. Lo and behold, they majored on the fact he’d attended every student union meeting since he joined the University.

The good news was that the electorate comprised the whole of the student population, most of whom loathed student politics. So my friend’s campaign leaflets focused on the need for the sensitive post to be apolitical, and for voters to choose the best person for the job. She won by a landslide.